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INTERVIEW: Nicky Romero at TomorrowWorld

Nicky Romero has quickly become one of the hottest names in dance music right now. He's collaborated with Calvin Harris, Avicii, Krewella, has released chart-topping solo productions, and runs his label Protocol - not to mention playing at every major festival and club all over the world.

We caught up with Nicky after his set on the main stage at TomorrowWorld where he talked about working with Avicii, Krewella, his Nothing Toulouse tour, and why he prefers the tour bus over planes. Check it out below:

How was performing on the main stage at TomorrowWorld?

It was great, it was great to be part of this and I think TomorrowWorld and ID&T really did a great job from bringing the same atmosphere from Europe here to the United States. Everybody was just so involved and I don't know, I saw a lot of flags. It was amazing to be a part of this.

And you presented an interactive experience with Google Glass. Tell us about that?

I was the first artist to wear a Google Glass. I felt a little bit like Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z or like one of the Fantastic Four with the glasses [which] has a laser beam. I'm pretty sure it looked funny, but it was a great experience and I hope that people got to see a little bit through my eyes.

How did you get hooked up with Avicii for your collab together "I Could Be the One?"

He's a good friend of mine. I started out in the same year as he did, and we just became really good friends. We were basically off in Stockholm for a night and we were like, "Hey, let's make a song," and it happens to be a great tune.

Did you guys have any creative say in the music video?

I have to give the props to Ash, the manager of Avicii who did a great job and found the right people. It's definitely on them, you know. They made the video work this way and we all were kinda involved, but Ash was the one who came up with this idea.

You know, they are very, very, very, very nice people. And they're super talented. So, I think they're one of the biggest rising stars. And they're also super-humble, and I'm really happy that I could do a song with them, "Legacy" - which the video is gonna be out soon as well.

It was great. I mean, this is the first time that I'm on tour for longer than a month, so it's pretty interesting. This was my last show from the tour. So, I'm pretty happy that we wrapped everything and that we got it done. We had a lot of great shows and I could not wish for a better tour than the one that we're doing right now. We did a bus tour in Canada which was amazing to be on a bus.

How do you like the bus versus flying around on a plane?

I love the bus over everything. The bus, because the bus, you can take your friends. We were just hanging out with people. It's just so much more convenient that you can leave whenever you want. It's just, it's the best way to travel! It's like a huge bus with my name on it and we have friends with me, and we just had everybody coming over. Pretty cool.

You're also releasing "S.O.T.U." with Sunnery James and Ryan Marciano. How did you meet them?

They're good friends from Holland. They're really, really cool guys and I made that song, and I was like, "Why don't we do it together?" l just like their vibe, and I think it fit a little bit in their sound, and we were like, "Let's do it together." And now, we're releasing it on Size [Records]. I hope people are gonna like it. I heard it got played a lot in the festival.

We actually talked to them before and I asked them what their definition of underground is. So, what's yours?

I think the definition of underground for me is something that's not playing on the radio and that's loved by people, you know, that are not particularly listening to the radio. But just going to parties to meet each other. So, it's music that's played at parties, and that's not broadcasted by the radio. To me, I mean, that's just how I feel. And if it's in a cool place or in a commercial place, it doesn't really matter. I think the most important thing is that, that it's music that's not played out viral. It's loved by a certain group of people.

You have Protocol Recordings Night at ADE coming up. Are you excited?

I'm super excited. I think it's my second time. Last year, I had my first time with David Guetta as a special guest. And this year, we do a bigger venue and we sold out like four times the capacity! Actually six times the capacity. So, I'm really happy. And I also have friends like Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike coming to play. We have a very special guest. We have Martin Garrix, Vicetone, TV Noise, we have John Dahlback. We have a lot of talent that and I'm super looking forward to do that.

Do you have new music coming out?

Yeah, I have a new song. I can't say too much, but it's gonna be in my album, it's really a song to listen to. I actually played the first version today. But, yeah, I think the final version will be played at my night [Protocol Recordings Night at ADE].

So, you're working on an album?

Yeah. I think 2014 is gonna be the year that we're gonna put that out. I made like six songs, and four of them are finished. The rest is not finished yet. I'm actually never really satisfied with what I make, and it takes forever for me to be satisfied with something I think is good enough to release. So, it might take a little longer.